According to Jerry Slocum & Jack Botermans (Puzzles Old and New, Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1992, page 21) Alphabet Puzzles first appeared in the early years of the 1900s, in both North America and Europe. These are classified as "Letter Dissections". The designer's intent is to cut a letter of the alphabet into pieces that can be arranged as a square. The user then attempts to make the letter from the pieces. The most famous of these is the T Puzzle according to Slocum & Botermans, because of it simplicity.
The photo is a Museum copy of a T Puzzle which was purchased from Berea Student Craft Industries, Kentucky, in 1972. When assembled correctly, the 4 oddly shaped pieces of wood fit together to form the capital letter "T" - 8cm long x 6.1cm wide x .7cm thick.
A plastic version from the collection pictured on the right, along with the instructions, indicates how the same 4 oddly shaped pieces do indeed fit together to form a "T". Slocum & Botermans' book pictures many puzzles of this type that were used in the past for advertising purposes.
NOTE: This page was originally created and posted on the Web on October 6, 1997. Subsequently it has been modified and periodically updated. Last update April 7, 2010